Multiple valve control outlet hydrant



Feb. 3, 1953 G. H. MARTIN 2,627,277

MULTIPLE VALVE CONTROL OUTLET HYDRANT Filed April 28, 1950 3 Sheets-$heet l IHIIHIIH g 58 @e i o c: 46 5.

George 6/ M/ir/ib Feb. 3, 1953 H MARTIN 2,627,277

MULTIPLE VALVE CONTROL OUTLET HYDRANT Filed April 28, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. F/Q

George Mar/m 1N VENTOR Feb. 3, 1953 MARTIN 2,627,277

MULTIPLE VALVE CONTROL. OUTLET HYDRANT Filed April 28, 1950 s Sheets-$heet s H: A} 2 Y8 a6 5 4/0 42 62 50 I) 1 f2 F+ 77777777 f George H Mar/#2 IN VENTOR Patented Feb. 3, 1953 'UNIT'ED STATES PATENT "QFF ICE 2,627,271 EMU'L'TILFIQE viiilva coN 'rh-onoUrIIET v H HYDRANT w George MartimBone, li ians. nasal-last 2s, 1950, s iiatnofissgrts Claims.

, ,Thi in e io a p r a s '2 ,n l .i prelfiments in water hydrants of the type which ia'reiu sed byfire clompanies for obtaining a water m ly .tbflsri i i 4 The primary object of the instant invention is to enable one hydrant to be used for supplying water under an increased pressure to a plurality of fire hoses and to permit the successive atta'chmentof fire hoses to the pumper hydrant without interrupting the water supply to the first hose attachment thereto. A another important object of this invention is to "provide a hydrant having a plurality ofoutlets and to provide "control valves for the outlets. two oi the valves being mechanically connected to'getherin -such a way that when either is open the other is closed. v

A further important object or "this invention is to provide closure valves for the outlets in a hydrant, the hydrant and the valves bein formed in such a manner as to resist freezing, and the valves and outlets being formed to automatically coact with a pump unit, whereby the water pressure may be increased and fire hoses may be successively attached to the hydrant without interrupting the water supply to the initial hose during the early stages of the fire.

These and ancillary objects and structural features of merit are attained by this invention, the preferred embodiment of which isset forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein; m

Figure '1 is an elevational view o'f a fire hydrant, embodying the structural features of this invention, with a portion of the hydrant Wfall broken away to illustrate the construction andarrangement of the valves;

nsure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view illustrating the mechanically connected valves; i t,

'Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 1 Figure 4 is a schematic showing of the conventional lay-out system of fire hoses which are attached to conventional hydrants; v

"Figure 5'is a schematic showing of the hydrant illustrated in Figure 1 with the inletvalve closed;

Figure 6 is a schematic showing with the inlet valve open and the 'waterfsupply passing through the hydrant to the first hose attached to the hydrant; I l V: H V Figure '7 "as schematic Hbwinfg of the hydrant eta pump unit operatives connected thereto;

t Qt h s asgta sh byi h s n e i ,whej usi s a, n r nti nal h drant t e fi s firs s e penra r ir s e g s sqen l frths fi att h i ih se o h h rant and. 1 9 Q ii fl i. th in valve the. wate s my as hr h h h d is fi n t r the ose. When the other'fire companies arrive on "the scene oi the fire, itis necessary to resort to the use of distant hydrants and attach the hoses thereto, or else it is necessary to close'the'rnain valve in the hydrant injusesothat other hoses can be attached thereto. This results in an interruption of the water supplyhuring the early stages of the fire and at the most crucial time when the water supplyis needed; Fur-therore, it results a tie-up of; trafiic and an increase in theamoiintof hose used.

Various hydrants have been constructed-to avoid these defects and-have included valve arrangements whereby successive hoseslmay be attached to the hydrant in :useowithout interr upting; the water supply. However, such; sconstructions, while (avoiding the necessity of turning ,olffHthe. water from the hydrantQinLpse, donot permit a multiplenumbenof filiqphQsfis to be attached to a singlelhydla lt.v Ad itionally t e a s. in, uc h rant ,a :.n .t mat c a uat response t th Water P ssu e a darano ss st rittqfree-Z ne;

The fire hydrant ill in its exemplary form, overcomes the latter defects and includes a-hol low standard or housing, I2, which is formedat its base with arr nge I 4, secured ,bybolts It to acornpanion fiange IBona vvatenmain 29. l

A partition 22 is,transyersely mounted in the lower portion of the"standard andv is centrally ior e o en n s 24. the, a l Ll fmwhith arebe l to Jn ti e a lveseat .i r arsev ie main inlet valve 25. An operating rod 25; sew d t its evel? audi the ya v an ex nd axially of the standard, the upper end of th'e ro' 'b ine, connec ed o, a brerat ns mem r r hexagon head 30, whereby the rod may be raised and lowered by turning the head to open and close the valve '26. A} l w i ,l'rhes nd t P ide t a: A center partition wall 38 torrnin'gan upperthamber 32 anda lowerohamber 34, the chamber s being communicated-by -means of; a-=port-36 formed in the partition, the port 3t forming a valve seat for a frustoconieal -auxiliary"inlet valve-40'.--Thevalve 'opeltatin V 1-" through thescenter-ot the part1 11 :33, seattfi in the portion being ofi ce tei'; as

An outlet 42 extends laterally from the standseen ard, adjacent to the base flange l4, and co-axially aligned outlets 44 and 4B are formed at the upper portion of the standard, the ports being in communication with the upper chamber 32. The outlets are provided with closures or caps 48. The outlet #52 is controlled by a beveled valve 58, which is provided with an operating rod 52 extending transversely through the lower chamber 34 and having its opposing end connected to a head 54, whereby the rod may be rotated to move the valve 5t from its seat 56.

The valve is secured to one end of a bell crank lever 58, which is pivotally secured by a pivot pin (it to an inwardly and upwardly projecting arm 52. A valve 64 is carried by a link 66 laterally projecting from the upper portion of the crank lever 58 and is adapted to be seated in a valve seat 65, the valve 64 controlling the outlet 86. A spring 68 is secured to an apertured ear ill projecting inwardly from the standard and has its opposing end bent and attached to an opening 12 in the upper end of the crank lever.

As seen in Figure 4, the conventional lay-out system involves the use of a plurality of hydrants i i to which the fire hoses Hi are attached.

This necessitates the employment of extra long hoses and involves a maximum of labor expenditure with an increase in service time. In using the hydrant It, the foregoing defects can be avoided, as seen in Figure 8. Thus, with respect to Figures 5 through 8, it is to be noted that the valve 26 will normally be seated in its valve seat and the valve at will be open, with the valves 50 and 64 closed. The valve 64 is normally held in a closed position by means of the spring 68, which also retains the valve in an open position.

When the fire company arrives on the scene of the fire, the valve 26 is opened by rotating the valve operating rod 28 by applying a wrench to the head 30. The water supply passes through port 36 and through the outlet port 46, as seen in Figure 6. Of course, a hose is connected to the outlet port 46 by removing the cap 43 prior to opening the inlet valve 26.

Upon the arrival on the scene of other fire companies, the fire hose connected to the outlet 43 is not disconnected, nor is the inlet valve 26 closed. Instead, a pumper 18, which may be driven by the engine of one of the fire apparatuses, is connected to the outlet ports 42 and M by means of connecting conduits or branches 80 and 82. The valve 50 is opened by rotating the rod 52 and the water supply is diverted from the port 36 and passes through the port 42 and the connection 62, which is secured to the suction side of the pump. The water supply enters the pumper and passes through the branch 88 into the port M to open the valve 64. When the valve Ed is opened by the water pressure, the crank 58 is pivoted about its pivot 60 and the valve 4!] is seated in the seat 36. Outlets 84 are provided on the delivery side of the pumper and fire hoses 86, as seen in Figure 8, are connected thereto. Thus the water supply to the initially attached fire hose 83 is not interrupted and thepumper is operatively connected to the hydrant, without disconnecting the fire hose 88. At no time during the attachment of the fire hoses 86 is there an interruption of the water supply to the fire hose 88 and, therefore, a more emclent extinguishing of the fire is obtained, with a reduction in the amount of hose footage needed It is to be especially noted that the valves ME and 64, which control the water supply to the first outlet 46, are mechanically linked or connected together, so that when the valve 40 is opened, when the hose 88 is the only hose attached to the hydrant, the valve 64 is closed. Upon connecting the pumper to the hydrant, as illustrated in Figure 7, the valve 40 is automatically closed due to the opening of the valve 64 under the incoming Water pressure. This arrangement of the valves, whereby the valves are automatically operated, prevents the valves from becoming frozen and also eliminates the mechanical actuation of control valves. Also, by locating the shut-off or inlet valve 26 below the ground level, the valve is freeze-proof.

When the pumper is attached to the hydrant, the pressure is increased from the standard city pressure to a high pressure without any interruption in the flow, and when the cap 48 is removed from the outlet 44, no leakage will occur, though the hose connection is already established at outlet 45. In the latter respect, the water pressure will keep valve 64 closed until the pumper is in use, whereupon valve 64 will be opened and valve at will close.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A fire hydrant comprising an upright hollow standard having an inlet in the lower portion thereof, a valve controlling said inlet, a rotary stem operatively connected to the valve and extending axially of the standard, a transverse partition in said standard and positioned above the inlet, said partition having an opening formed therein, a control valve for said opening, an outlet projecting from said standard above the partition and means for normally retaining the control valve in an open position, whereby the water supply passes from the inlet through the opening in the partition to the outlet, a second outlet projecting from the standard between the partition and the inlet, a control valve for said outlet, a third outlet projecting from the standard above the partition, a valve for said outlet, connecting means between the valve for the third outlet and the valve for the opening in the partition, whereby when a pumping connection is established between the second and third outlets, the valve for the opening in the partition will be automatically closed, the water supply passing through the second and third outlets through the pumping connection to open the valve for the third outlet and to be discharged through the first outlet.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said connecting means includes a bell crank lever vertically pivoted to the standard intermediate of its opposing ends, said valve for the partition opening being carried by the lower end of the lever, a link projecting laterally from the lever and supporting the valve for the third outlet and resilient means comiected between the upper end of the lever and the standard. V

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said resilient means is anchored to the standard above the third outlet to urge the upper end or" the lever relative to the outlet and thereby hold the valve for said outlet in a closed position.

4. In a hydrant having a valve controlled inlet in its lower end, a transverse partition formed with an opening and positioned above the inlet, a firstand second outlet projecting from the hydrant above the partition, a valve for said first outlet, a supporting member vertically pivoted to the hydrant and supporting said valve,

a valve for the opening in the partition carried by the lower end of the supporting member, resilient means connected between the hydrant and the upper end of the supporting member for urging the supporting member relative to the said first outlet whereby the valve for the outlet is normally seated and the valve for the partition is open to permit the water supply to pass through the opening in the partition to the second outlet, a third outlet in said hydrant below the partition, and a control valve operatively associated with said third outlet, said third outlet being connectable exteriorly of the hydrant with the first outlet for establishing, when the control valve for said third outlet is open, a flow from the inlet through the first outlet, the valve for said first outlet being automatically opened and the valve for the opening in the partition being closed.

5. A hydrant comprising an upright hollow standard having an inlet in the lower portion thereof, a first valve controlling said inlet, a stem for said valve extending axially of the standard and disposed through the upper end thereof for manual actuation, a transverse partition in said standard disposed above said inlet and having an opening therein, a second valve for said opening, a first outlet extending from said standard above the partition, resilient means for normally retaining the second valve in an open position whereby the water supply passes from the inlet through the opening in the partition to the first outlet, a second outlet projecting from the standard below the partition, a third manually operated valve controlling said second outlet, a third outlet extending from the standard above the partition, a fourth valve controlling said third outlet, mechanical means connecting the second and fourth valves so that when one is open the other is closed, whereby when a connection is established exteriorly of the standard between the second outlet and third outlet the second valve is closed upon opening under the water pressure of the fourth valve.

GEORGE H. MARTIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 843,963 Page Feb. 12, 1907 1,160,422 Loeflier Nov. 16, 1915 1,578,957 Coates Mar. 30, 1926 1,601,993 Blake Oct. 5, 1926 

